Romans 1:16 reads as follows: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Ashamed: a : feeling shame, guilt, or disgrace b : feeling inferior or unworthy
I have been ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for most of my adult life. Whether it was due to feeling that I didn't know enough at the time, fear of ridicule, or fear of being looked at differently my reticence has held my tongue on many occasions over the years when I should have boldly proclaimed my allegiance to the lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to be ashamed any more. And due to His faithfulness, God has been very gracious in providing me with an chance to prove it.
Recently I was afforded the opportunity to interview for a new position as a central office technician with the company I currently work for, Frontier Communications. This job would require me to perform maintenance and trouble-shooting on the company's internal network traffic equipment. In other words, I would be responsible for ensuring that all the different equipment across West Virginia continue to talk to each other. For anyone who knows me, and knows how much of a tech geek I am, it will be apparent that this job would be right up my alley. To ice the cake it would be a significant pay increase.
From the beginning I was content to rest in God's will for this situation. If He willed it I would be happy to take the new job. If He willed it I would be happy to stay where I was at. I want to be very clear that this God centered attitude is not due to any merit on my part. The Lord has made it very easy for me to take this view about any prospective job opportunities, because I am quite content with the position I currently have.
So as I contemplated the possibility of being hired for this position one thing became immediately clear to me. I did not have the experience with the company's infrastructure that others might have who had probably also applied for this position. In addition to that I lack a college diploma in a relevant discipline. So it seemed that I would be at a disadvantage from the outset in terms of my qualifications for the job. Regardless of any technical aptitude I might have, that is difficult to quantify without a diploma or equivalent work experience.
Thus the question I began to ask myself was "Why would they want to hire me over someone more experienced?". After some thought, I decided that one thing I bring to the table that someone else might not is Godly character. Through my relationship with Jesus and the process of sanctification which is a natural result of that my loyalty, integrity, dependability, and honesty have all increased over the years. Regardless of whether someone has been born again those are desirable qualities in an employee. So I thought that if I was able to get an interview I could point to my natural aptitude for technology but really try to cement my eligibility with a character based approach.
At some point during the wait to see if I would get an interview a thought sprang into being in my mind. This could be a fantastic opportunity to stand up for Jesus and risk being shamed for the gospel so that I would not be ashamed of the gospel. Woah! This was dangerous ground I was treading into. After all, even though I was content in my current job, I obviously would like to have the new one. I did not know the hiring manager's background and thus had no way of knowing whether boldly proclaiming the name of Christ in a business setting like that would torpedo my chances of being hired. Was I really willing to put my money where my mouth was? The more I thought and meditated upon these issues I became determined that regardless of the risks involved I had to do this. How could I lead my family in following Christ unless I was willing to give them an example to follow. Words are meaningless unless they are accompanied by actions.
The morning of the interview finally dawned. I needed to drive to Charleston to keep the appointment. As I drove my thoughts centered upon my sufficiency in Christ and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. I prayed "God please give me an opening and help me to have no fear or hesitation. Help me to represent You well." I enlisted the aid of others in praying, not that I would get the job but that I would not be ashamed of the gospel.
I arrived at my destination, met the hiring manager, and proceeded with the interview. We discussed several technical questions, my current knowledge of various company systems, and my prior work experience with situations similar to what might arise if I was employed in this new position. I patiently waited for the right opportunity. Finally the moment of truth arrived. My interviewer asked "Is there anything else you would like to share?". Bingo! What proceeded next was something approximately like this: "As I contemplated this position I realized that I might not have the work experience that others will who might have applied. So I asked myself, why would they want to hire me over someone else who is more technically qualified. The answer is that technical skills can be trained. Education can be given to enable someone to perform specific job functions. But something that can't be trained is character. Honesty, loyalty, integrity, and dependability is what I bring to the table. And these qualities of mine are a direct result of my relationship with Jesus Christ. Whether someone shares that faith in Him is not the point. The point is that as a supervisor my character is something you can bank on. This isn't because I am a great person. It's because the source of my character comes from outside of myself, through my faith in Jesus."
Yes! Slam dunk! Game, set, match!
The response I received from this was favorable. I was not asked anything about the gospel and so there was not an overt opportunity to evangelize. But I was fine with that. If God wanted me to share deeper truth I believe He would have opened that door by steering the conversation in that direction. What was important to me was that I boldly stood up to be counted among the faithful of Jesus Christ. So in my mind the interview was a smashing success because that was the whole focus of it for me. I don't know yet whether I will be offered the position or not. But that is mostly irrelevant for me (I say mostly because again, I wouldn't mind at all having this job) because the goal I had was resoundingly met. And for that I give praise and thanks and honor to the sovereign Lord who orchestrated the entire situation as He did.
Will you join me in being shamed for the gospel but not being ashamed of the gospel?
Soli Deo Gloria
